


Redcliffe's Pups

by hurdlelocker



Category: Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age: Origins
Genre: Childhood Friends, Childhood Sweethearts, F/M, Meet-Cute
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-16
Updated: 2021-01-16
Packaged: 2021-03-14 12:48:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 421
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28545861
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hurdlelocker/pseuds/hurdlelocker
Summary: Maeryn Elethea Cousland is 8 years old and more interested in puppies than impressing the Guerrins during her family's annual trip to Redcliffe.Alistair is 6 years old and sleeps in the barn with the Guerrins' dogs.
Relationships: Alistair/Female Cousland (Dragon Age)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 9





	Redcliffe's Pups

Maeryn snuck down the hallway of the ancient castle and slipped out a side door to the courtyard. Looking around to make sure no one was nearby to recognize her, she silently crept over toward the stables. She knew she would be punished if she were caught, as she was supposed to be practicing the verses of the Chant she had been told to read at the ceremony later, but she had overheard two servants talking about the new litter of mabari pups that had been born a month or so prior and she  **_had_ ** to see them.

Maeryn crept into the stables, imagination filled with ideas of the fun she might get to have with the puppies. She turned a corner and collided with another small person, knocking herself to the ground with a small thud. Startled and snapped from her reverie, Maeryn looked up to see a sturdy boy with a shock of reddish-blond hair atop a freckled face offering his hand to her.

“Thorry!” the boy lisped through the gap left by missing front teeth. “Are you alright?”

Maeryn took his hand and, once she was righted, was surprised to see that she was taller than the boy. “No, no, I’m sorry,” she replied. “ I wasn’t watching where I was going. I heard there were puppies and it’s all I’ve been able to think about all day. Are there puppies in here?”

The boy grinned as Maeryn peered around him, clearly hoping she would see a puppy. “The puppieth aren’t here, but I know where they are. Can I show you?”

Maeryn squealed with glee and reflexively hugged the boy, not seeing him blush as she did. “YES! Let’s go!”

She grabbed his hand and marched off, before realizing that she didn’t know where she was going. “Oh. Um… Maybe you should be the leader?”

The boy grinned again and, still holding her hand, started walking in the opposite direction Maeryn had been heading.

They snuck through the courtyard, even crawling in the mud under some bushes, when suddenly Maeryn stopped in her tracks.

“What’s wrong? Doncha wanna find the puppieth?”

“Yes, of course, but I just realized we don’t know each other’s names!” Maeryn stuck her right hand out to the boy. “My name is Maeryn, how do you do?”

The boy looked at her curiously, cocked his eyebrow up for a moment, then smiled, clasped her extended hand and said, “It’s nice to meet you, Maeryn. My name is Alistair, but everyone just callth me ‘Al.’”

**Author's Note:**

> One day I will write more for this story but I really wanted to share what I have so far. I haven’t decided if “more” means more of this story specifically or more stories of Maeryn and Alistair as children and their eventual meeting at Ostagar. Stay tuned to find out, I guess. 😉
> 
> Thank you so much for reading! ❤️


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